1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to metal traces and, more particularly, to an etched metal trace with reduced RF impedance resulting from the skin effect.
2. Description of the Related Art
Metal traces are common integrated circuit elements that are used in a multi-level interconnect structure to connect together various elements of a circuit. In addition, a metal trace can be used to form an integrated circuit inductor by forming the trace to have a number of coils or loops. Inductors are common circuit elements in radio frequency (RF) applications, such as digital cellular telephones.
FIG. 1A shows a plan view that illustrates a prior art integrated circuit inductor 100. FIG. 1B shows a cross-sectional view taken along lines 1B—1B of FIG. 1A. FIG. 1C shows a cross-sectional view taken along lines 1C—1C of FIG. 1A. FIG. 1D shows a cross-sectional view taken along lines 1D—1D of FIG. 1A.
As shown in FIGS. 1A–1D, inductor 100 is formed on top of a four metal layer interconnect structure that includes a fourth layer of insulation material I4, and a metal trace 110 that is formed on insulation layer I4 from a fourth metal layer M4. In addition, the metal interconnect structure includes a fifth layer of insulation material I5 that is formed on metal trace 110, and a via 112 that is formed through insulation layer 15 to make an electrical connection with metal trace 110.
As further shown in FIGS. 1A–1D, inductor 100 includes a metal trace 114 that is formed on top of the fifth layer of insulation material I5 from a fifth metal layer M5. Metal trace 114, which has a width W and a depth D, has a first end 120 that is formed over via 112 to make an electrical connection with via 112, and a second end 122. Metal trace 114, which makes one and a half loops in the same plane, is typically formed on top of the metal interconnect structure to avoid inducing currents in the substrate.
One important measure of a metal trace is the RF impedance of the trace, which affects the quality factor or Q of an inductor formed from the metal trace. High Q inductors are desirable in a number of RF circuits, such as resonant circuits. The Q of an inductor is a measure of the ratio of magnetic energy stored in the inductor versus the total energy fed into the inductor, and is given by equation (EQ.) 1 as:Q=ωL/Z,  EQ. 1where ω is related to the frequency f of the signal applied to the inductor (ω=2(pi)(f)), L represents the inductance of the inductor, and Z represents the RF impedance of the inductor. (Impedance is the vector sum of resistance and reactance, and introduces a phase shift.) Thus, as indicated by EQ. 1, the smaller the impedance, the higher the Q of the inductor.
One problem with metal traces is that when gigahertz-frequency signals are placed on the trace, the skin effect causes current to flow primarily at the surface. This effectively increases the RF impedance of the trace which, in turn, lowers the Q of an inductor formed from the trace.
One common approach to reducing the impedance of an integrated circuit inductor is to increase the size of the metal trace. However, in integrated circuit applications, there are practical limitations to the size of the metal trace. As a result, there is a need for a metal trace with reduced RF impedance which, in turn, allows a high Q integrated circuit inductor to be realized from the trace.